I have a Brother machine, and so does my DH. Mine cost about $165 on eBay, and his cost $89 at WalMart. We both do all our piecing on them. They are good, basic machines for that purpose. I have had mine for 2 years now. He has had his for 1 year. My Mom has the same as his, and she also likes it fine. Although they are not top of the line or have all the bells and whistles, they do the job reliably. If I were going out to spend $$ thousands on a new machine, I would still get a Brother because of my good experience with them. That's my 2 cents worth!! :D